Wednesday, July 30, 2014

A series of commemorative stamps celebrating Ian Fleming’s life has been released by Guernsey Post.

Guernsey Post’s 41 pence and 54 pence stamps focus on Fleming’s role as a Commander of Naval Intelligence during World War II. His time at his Jamaican home, Goldeneye, where he wrote all of the James Bond novels, is the focus of the 55 pence stamp. The 74 and 83 pence stamps reflect Fleming’s role as a successful journalist and writer – both at home in London and as a journalist abroad.

Complementing the stamps is a miniature sheet (£3.00 stamp) depicting Ian Fleming behind the wheel of a Blower Bentley, which was taken by veteran Life Magazine photographer, Loomis Dean.

The stamps are available to order now visiting www.guernseystamps.com or by calling philatelic customer services on (01481) 716486.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Bondage was the official magazine of the James Bond 007 Fan Club (not to be confused with the James Bond International Fan Club, publishers of OO7 Magazine). The "American club" — as it was called back in the day — was run by Richard Schenkman from 1974 to 1989.

While Bondage never grew as thick nor as slick as its overseas counterpart OO7, its content was always first class. In the pages of Bondage you could find lengthy in-dept interviews with such Bond luminaries as Cubby Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Tom Mankiewicz, John Glen, and John Gardner. The magazine published several Ian Fleming short stories that had never been published in America, and one of its major contributors was the yet-to-be-named continuation author Raymond Benson. The club and magazine served Bond fans for 15 years, and within the pages of Bondage are facts and photos found nowhere else.

Today back issues of Bondage are hot collectibles. While issues 1 to 7 are exceedingly rare, the remaining ten issues can be found at reasonable prices. But which issue contains that choice interview or story that you simply must have?

To help you on your search, here is a complete checklist bibliography of Bondage magazine — the covers, the content, and some choice news and rumours that didn’t always turn out to be true. Happy hunting.

BONDAGE:

A Complete Bibliography – 1974 to 1989

Bondage – No. 1, June 1974
12 pages

NEWS: Eon tells the club the next Bond film after The Man With The Golden Gun will be Moonraker. Eon says it will adapt the Ian Fleming short stories. Alice Copper’s musical version of The Man With The Golden Gun will not be used after all. The Man With The Golden Gun started shooting in April on schedule.
BOND ON T.V. From Russia With Love airs on ABC with cuts even worse than Goldfinger. Will we see a YOLT/DAF theatrical double bill re-release in the future?
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? David Hedison appeared on T.V.’s Cannon. Sean Connery is filming Ransom and will next do Murder on the Orient Express.
REVIEW: Zardoz starring Sean Connery.
TOYS & GAMES: Live and Let Die tarot card set still available.
KUNG FU BOND? With The Man With The Golden Gun, is James Bond becoming a follower instead of a trendsetter?
BONDED RECIPES, EDITORIAL, SURVEYS.

Bondage – No. 2, December 1974
Special The Man With The Golden Gun Issue
12 pages

REPORT: The Man With The Golden Gun – Cubby and Harry have done it again!
LOCATIONS: A report on filming The Man With The Golden Gun in the Gulf of Siam, Hong Kong, and Bangkok.
AT THE STUDIO: The Man With The Golden Gun at Pinewood and the huge Solar Energy Plant set.
SPECIAL NOTE: Eon Productions tells the club that the next Bond film will not be Moonraker as reported in issue #1, but The Spy Who Loved Me.
SOME FACTS ON THE STARS: Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, and Herve Villechaize profiled.
BONDED RECIPES: “Scrambled Eggs James Bond” (from 007 in New York).
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Sean Connery is now filming Murder on the Orient Express.
MISC, QUIZZES, HOW TO JOIN THE CLUB.

THE BIG NEWS: While Octopussy and Moonraker were also being considered, it has been decided that For Your Eyes Only will be the next Bond film.
MUSIC: Marvin Hamlisch and Nobody Does It Better.
HISTORY: Portrait of M by Robert Forlini.
ARTICLE: The Women of The Spy Who Love Me.
LITERATURE: The Little-Known Ian Fleming/James Bond Short Stories by Saul Fischer.
SPECIAL STILL PICTORIAL: Connery meeting the Queen at the You Only Live Twice premiere. Roger Moore workout for The Man With The Golden Gun.
OPINION: Roger Moore in Bond’s Future? by Richard Schenkman.
VEHICLES: Getting around in Spy, a look at the Lotus and the wetbike.
BONDED RECIPES: Green Street Spaghetti.

Bondage – No. 5, Winter 1978
20 pages

NEWS: Nothing yet on “Eyes Only”. Tom Mankiewicz has submitted several story ideas. Cubby scouting Venezuela, Brazil (Rio), Argentina, and Paris as possible locations.
INTERVIEW: Q&A With Albert R. Broccoli.
MUSIC: John Barry and Bond by Paul Harrod.
PICTORIAL on the production of The Spy Who Love Me (including rare pic of Roger Moore and David Niven together on the set).
ARTICLE: Bond’s Weaponry by Robert Forlini.
CLUB MERCHANDISE
SPECIAL STILL PICTORIAL: George Lazenby’s Bond-like Sony T.V. commercial in pictures and text.
BONDED RECIPES: Roast Beaver (!) and Roast Duck.

NEWS: Moonraker Launched! New film started shooting August 14. James Bond of the Secret Service back off the ground as well.
INTERVIEW: George Lazenby: Ten Years Later Q&A.
HISTORY: Das grosse Erlebnis – Piz Gloria by Tom Bennett.
PICTORIAL: Peter Hunt: A Director’s Scrapbook. Personal pics from the production of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
ARTICLE: The Original James Bond Car, My Life With 007′s Aston Martin DB5 by Jerry Lee.
CLUB MERCHANDISE
SPECIAL PICTORIAL: Roger Moore and Lois Chiles in Paris on the first day of shooting Moonraker.

Bondage – No. 7, Summer 1979
20 pages

CLUB MEMBERS NOTICES: Club Moonraker coverage will appear in the new sci-fi magazine, Questar.
INTERVIEW: Q&A with Kevin McClory by Richard Schenkman.
FAN ART: Club Member Artwork.
PICTORIAL: Moonraker.
CLUB MERCHANDISE
ARTICLE: James Bond in the Classroom by Fred R. Eicheiman, Ed.D.
ARTICLE: The Spy Who Lived Twice by Saul Fischer. A comparrison of the many similarities between The Spy Who Loved Me and You Only Live Twice.

Bondage – Number 8, 1980
20 pages

CLUB MEMBERS NOTICES: Pics of club members personalized 007 license plates.
INTERVIEW: Q&A with screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz by Richard Schenkman.
BOND BOOKSHELF: Colonel Sun, The Book of Bond, and The James Bond Dossier.
ARTICLE: Moonraker From Book to Film by Andy East.
HISTORY: On the Set of Diamonds Are Forever by Robert Short.
ARTICLE: Ken Adam Talks About the Production Design of Moonraker.
FAN FILM REPORT: The Spy Who Did It Better by Mark Pirro.
BOOKS: Writing The James Bond Films: A Behind the Scenes History by Steve Rubin.
INTERVIEW: An Exclusive Interview With “James Bond” by Danny Biederman.
TRVIA: The James Bond Quizbook.

IN MEMORIAM: Peter Sellers, John Lennon, Bernard Lee.
INTERVIEW: Q&A with Terence Young at the Festival du Film by Richard Schenkman.
INTERVIEW: Richard Schenkman talks with associate producer Stanley Sopel.
LITERATURE: Treasures of the Sea by Ian Fleming. (Another little-know Fleming story from 1957.)
HISTORY: THUNDERBALL Open end Interviews with Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, and Terence Young from 1965.
INTERVIEW: Maurice Binder at the Museum of Modern Art.
ADVERT: The Illustrated James Bond, 007, a James Bond 007 Fan Club publication.

Bondage – Number 11, 1982
25 pages

INTERVIEW: John Gardner: A talk with the man holding James Bond’s literary license by Richard Schenkman.
INTERVIEW: For Your Eyes Only press junket coverage by Richard Schenkman. Q&A interviews with: Topol, Julian Glover, Sheena Easton, Maurice Binder, Robbin Young (flower shop girl), Cubby Broccoli, and Roger Moore.
MERCHANDISE: For Your Eyes Only posters.
QUIZ/GAMES: The 007 Night Spot.
MUSIC: Twisting with James
BOOKS: Publish or Perish: Writing The James Bond Films: A Behind the Scenes History by Stephen Jay Rubin.
ARTICLE: The strange case of the two prettiest women in For Your Eyes Only…one who wasn’t in the film and the other was a man!

Bondage – Number 12, 1983
20 pages

INTERVIEW: The John Glen Interview by Richard Schenkman and Tom Sciacca (including details on Octopussy).
HISTORY: A Visit to the Lilly Library by Raymond Benson. Benson reports on the Fleming archive while doing his research for The James Bond Bedside Companion.
MERCHANDISE: The August Halle Productions gunbarrel lithograph.
REPORT: Never Say Never Again by Richard Schenkman (includes pic of cut scenes).
HISTORY: Talking with Bond: Pino Locchi, the Italian Voice of 007.
INTERVIEW: The Lois Maxwell Interview by Mark Greenberg.

Bondage – Number 13, 1984
20 pages

LITERATURE: “How To Write a Thriller” by Ian Fleming. Amazing article by Fleming from 1962. Illustrated by George Almond.
INTERVIEW: A Dialogue with Kingsley Amis by Raymond Benson (infamous interview in which the author of Colonel Sun trashes the first two Gardner novels.)
REPORT: HOLLYWOOD! Picture coverage from both the premieres of Octopussy and Never Say Never Again.
HISTORY: On the Set of Diamonds Are Forever by Danny Biederman.
MERCHANDISE: Final chance to get the August Halle Productions gunbarrel lithograph.
INTERVIEW: The Adolfo Celi Interview by Piero Corsini.

Bondage – Number 14, 1985
20 pages

INTERVIEW: The 1985 Model: John Gardner by Richard Schenkman.
GAMING: Be Your Own James Bond: A Look at the James Bond 007 Role-Playing Game by Raymond Benson.
REPORT: A View To A Kill (includs pics from cut “Zorin protestors” sequence).
REPORT: James Bond in San Francisco by Rick Johnson.
OBITUARY: Ivar Bryce 1906 – 1985, A Remembrance.
REPORT: Sean Connery: Harvard Man of the Year. A full report with pics from the Hasty Pudding Theatricals 1984 banquet.
MERCHANDISE: Vintage Bond Corgi’s for sale.

Bondage – Number 15, May 1987
20 pages

HISTORY: Casino Royale: The Forgotten Bond by Leonard Thomason.
REPORT: On the Set of The Living Daylights: A Reporters Notebook by Richard Schenkman.
INTERVIEW: A Conversation with Timothy Dalton by Richard Schenkman.
REPORT: SOLD! A report on the sale of the Aston martin DB5 by Raymond Benson.
LITERATURE: “Treasure Hunt in Eden” by Ian Fleming. Part One: Pirate Gold. (Story written by Ian Fleming in 1958 printed here in American for the first time.)
BACK ISSUES.

Bondage – Number 16, Winter 1989
23 pages

LITERATURE: “Treasure Hunt in Eden” by Ian Fleming. Part Two: Butterflies and Beachcombers. Illustrated by George Almond.
MUSIC/BOOKS: The Soundtracks to the Novels by Raymond Benson. Researched by Mark Atkins. (A terrific examination of the music contained in the works of Ian Fleming.)
REPORT: Report from the Set of License To Kill by Richard Schenkman.
INTERVIEW: Timothy Dalton Revisited by Richard Schenkman. (Interview contains pics of cuts scenes, and an ominous prediction by Dalton that he “has a feeling” that Licence To Kill will be “the end of the lot.” Not just his last Bond…but the last Bond altogether!)

Bondage – Number 17, Summer 1989
28 pages

TELEVISION: Fleming’s Life Depicted in Goldeneye. Report on TV movie starring Charles Dance.
LITERATURE: “Treasure Hunt in Eden” by Ian Fleming. Part Three: Gold or No Gold?
TELEVISION /HISTORY: Ian Fleming’s Other Spy by Jon E. Heitland. (A look at Ian Fleming’s involvement in the creation of Napoleon Solo and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.)
INTERVIEWS: Chatting at the Plaza. Press junket interviews with John Glen and Talisa Soto from Licence To Kill (with a promise that other interviews would appear in Bondage #18).
LOCATIONS: Everyman His Own 007 by Richard Schenkman. (Terrific collection of fan photos and remembrances of visiting Bond sets and Bond locales.)
INTERVIEW: A Visit to the James Bond Classroom. Raymond Benson interviews Michael G. Wilson and director of publicity Saul Cooper.
BACK ISSUES & BOOKS.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Kate Neilan and Rob Chilver, who run the excellent Adventures With Words website and podcast, recently visited with author Steve Cole at Random House and came away with a few intriguing nuggets of information about his first Young Bond novel, Shoot To Kill.

One major revelation is that the Fleming estate gave Steve the option ("quite a few options, actually") of updating Young Bond into the 1980s -- "a young Daniel Craig Bond." But Steve rejected this idea, calling the 80s, "The decade that fashion forgot", and decided to stick with the 1930s Fleming-Higson timeline for his 4-book series. (SEE UPDATE BELOW.)

While Steve couldn't say anything about the plot -- both Kate and Rob comment on how ultra careful he had to be -- he did mention a few elements of his research which "may or may not be in the book." Steve said he researched Zeppelins, Hollywood in the 1930s, the Hollywood Sign (which was then the Hollywoodland sign), gangsters and crime in Hollywood, Grauman's Chinese Theater, and the attitude of the police commissioner toward Communists at the time. They also pointed out that Steve is aware the gun on the cover is from 1938, and that an early version of cover (which was shown to them!) featured a woman.

UPDATE: Hold the phone! I've learned from the powers-that-be that updating Young Bond into the 1980s was NOT an option offered to Steve. It was always the plan to leave Young Bond in the Fleming-Higson universe. What happened was during this blogger's brunch at Random House there was a casual discussion about what one could do with Young Bond -- theoretically -- including the idea of a young Daniel Craig-like Bond in the 1980s, and how that really wouldn't work. Sorry for the confusion. I've left the story as originally written, but changed my headline.